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Entourage (TV series)
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Entourage is an HBO original series created by Doug Ellin that chronicles the rise of Vincent Chase — a young A-list movie star — and his childhood friends from Queens, New York City as they navigate the unfamiliar terrain of Hollywood, California. Doug Ellin, Mark Wahlberg, and Stephen Levinson serve as the show's executive producers, and the show's premise is loosely based on Wahlberg's experiences as an up-and-coming movie star.
rding to Mark Wahlberg, Entourage was initially conceived when his assistant asked to film him and his friends, calling them "hilarious".
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Entourage is an HBO original series created by Doug Ellin that chronicles the rise of Vincent Chase — a young A-list movie star — and his childhood friends from Queens, New York City as they navigate the unfamiliar terrain of Hollywood, California. Doug Ellin, Mark Wahlberg, and Stephen Levinson serve as the show's executive producers, and the show's premise is loosely based on Wahlberg's experiences as an up-and-coming movie star.
Development
According to Mark Wahlberg, Entourage was initially conceived when his assistant asked to film him and his friends, calling them "hilarious". Other reports credit Eric Weinstein, a long-time friend of Wahlberg's, with the idea of filming the successful actor's group of friends. In order to be more satirical of the Hollywood lifestyle, a fictional approach was chosen rather than a straight documentary.
Vincent Chase, the show's main character, was envisioned to be more similar to Wahlberg, but it was decided that some of his and his friends' activities (particularly some elements of their criminal past) would not work well on television. A lighter approach was subsequently decided on.
However, according to Donnie Carroll, who was the inspiration for the Turtle character, the idea for a show involving an actor and his friends had come from him. It had originated as a book idea, centered around Carroll's own life and his experiences with Wahlberg, entitled From the 'Hood to Hollywood, A Soldier's Story.
Cast and characters
Entourage revolves around Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), a young, up-and-coming actor who eventually becomes an A-list star. His experiences are loosely based on those of Mark Wahlberg, who is also executive producer on the show. His best friend and manager is Eric Murphy (Kevin Connolly). "E", as his friends call him, is based on Wahlberg's friend and executive producer Eric Weinstein. He's also been reported to be inspired by Stephen Levinson, Wahlberg's manager.
Vincent's older brother Johnny "Drama" Chase (Kevin Dillon), is also Vince's personal chef and trainer. Johnny is a C-list actor who was in the fictional show Viking Quest during his younger days. His role in the new fictional hit show Five Towns has begun to resurrect his fame and career. This character is based on Johnny "Drama" Alves (cousin of Mark Wahlberg), whom Donnie Wahlberg had hired to keep his younger brother out of trouble.
Rounding out the entourage of friends is "Turtle" (Jerry Ferrara), who is another of Vince's old friends from childhood. Turtle's official role is as Vince's driver and assistant, though his value as such is often brought into question. This character is based on Mark Wahlberg's former "gofer" Donnie Carroll aka "Donkey". Carroll auditioned for the role, but the Boston-native was turned down when it was decided the actors would have to be New Yorkers. Carroll died on December 18, 2005 after an asthma attack.
Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) is Vince's abrasive but lovable agent. The role has led to several nominations and Emmy Awards for Piven. Ari is based on Wahlberg's real-life agent Ari Emanuel.
Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, and Jeremy Piven have been credited in every episode in the opening credits since season one. Debi Mazar who had a recurring guest star role as Shauna in season 1 began to receive opening credits billing in season 2. Because of pregnancy, her appearances in season 3 were limited and Mazar made her final regular appearance in episode 42. When she made appearances in seasons 4 and 5, Mazar was credited as a special guest star. Perrey Reeves (Mrs. Ari) and Rex Lee (Lloyd) had recurring roles in the first two seasons. Starting in season three, Reeves and Lee were credited as "starring" in the end credits in the episodes that they appeared in. After Debi Mazar left on maternity leave, Reeves began to receive in the opening credits starting in season 4 replacing Mazar's credit, and is now credited whether she appears in the episode or not. Rex Lee's name also now appears in the opening credits as of season 5 whether he appears in the episode or not. Also In season 4, Rhys Coiro's recurring character Billy Walsh was given a bigger role in the storyline, and Coiro was credited as "starring" in the first six episodes of the season. However, when his character returned in episode 52, he was again credited as a guest star.
Recurring characters
Entourage features many recurring characters. Sometimes these characters are played by celebrities such as Malcolm McDowell as Terrance McQuewick while other celebrities, such as Mandy Moore and Seth Green appear as parodies of themselves.
Guests and cameos
Entourage typically has at least one celebrity guest per episode. Appearances include Kanye West, Michael Phelps, Martin Scorsese, Gary Busey and Larry David.
Plot synopsis
First season
The first season of Entourage chronicles Vincent Chase's adventures as he climbs the celebrity ladder after his first successful movie: Head On. At this time, he is desperately in love with Amanda Boutros. At the forefront of the first few episodes is the conflict between Vince's best friend "E" and his agent Ari, who are both working to get the best for Vince, but often differ on how to accomplish this.
Vince's next project is decided halfway through the season: Queens Boulevard. Signed on is indie director Billy Walsh, who comes into immediate conflict with E. Eventually their differences are put aside and the season ends with the start of production on Queens Boulevard, with E formally becoming Vince's manager.
Running subplots include: Turtle's laziness and quest for marijuana; Drama's attempt to follow in his younger brother's footsteps; E dating Ari's assistant Emily (Samaire Armstrong); and Vince's many and varied girlfriends.
Second season
The second season revolves around Vince's proposed role in the movie adaptation of Aquaman as the titular hero. Ari's inability to close the contract leads to trouble, but Vince manages to convince the film's director, James Cameron, that he is right for the part. However, new problems arise when the role of the leading lady goes to Mandy Moore, Vince's ex-girlfriend, for whom he still has feelings, but who is engaged to be married.
Mandy and Vince resume their romance after Mandy's engagement shows signs of problems, but she eventually returns to her boyfriend and resigns from the Aquaman project. Initially devastated, Vince finds the will to go on with the movie in the end.
However, Ari has his own problems in the form of his boss and partner, Terrance McQuewick (Malcolm McDowell), who is trying to steal Vince away from him. Near the end of the season, their conflict reaches a head and Ari is fired from the agency. E, meanwhile, starts to date Sloan (Emmanuelle Chriqui), McQuewick's daughter.
Meanwhile, Drama continues to try to become a star, even considering getting his calves augmented. He is eventually dropped by his agent, Adam Davies, after Vince decides to stick with Ari after Ari is fired. Turtle starts a career of his own, as manager of rapper Saigon.
Third season, part 1
The third season continues with the Aquaman plotline as the movie premieres and becomes a huge hit. Problems arise however when Medellin, Vince's dream project about the life of Pablo Escobar, conflicts with the schedule of Aquaman 2. The end result is that Vince is unable to star in either and is fired by Warner Brothers.
Ari meanwhile has to juggle his new, failing, business with keeping Vince happy. Even though Ari manages to set up a successful new agency with the help of Barbara Miller (Beverly D'Angelo), it leads him to neglect his star client.
E's relationship with Sloan comes into question when he has a threesome with her and her friend Tori, to whom E is attracted. Tensions rise further when E is confronted with Sloan's stalker Seth Green.
Near the end of the season, Drama finally lands his big break as he's signed on to the new series Five Towns. Turtle's career as a music manager ends unceremoniously when he is bought out by Saigon's original manager. In the season finale, Ari is fired as Vince's agent when his abrasive methods lead to him being unable to secure a film about punk rock band The Ramones.
Third season, part 2
The second part of the third season focuses almost entirely on Vince and Ari and the troubles surrounding Medellin. Attempting to get Vince back, Ari convinces him that he can secure the film after all. Vince's new agent, Amanda (Carla Gugino), tries to steer Vince towards a different film, but he ends up refusing.
To compound their problems, they both admit to a mutual attraction, and have a relationship. When Medellin once again slips Vince's grasp, he questions Amanda's motives. After proving her innocence, she drops him as both client and boyfriend. With the help of Ari, who is once again hired, Vince and E finally secure their dream project when they buy the rights to the film themselves. Billy Walsh is signed on as the director with E given his first shot at producer.
In the continuation of the previous part's subplot, Drama's star rises, and Five Towns becomes a hit. At the end of the season, Vince (along with Turtle), impoverished after buying Medellin, moves in with Drama, the new star. E proceeds to move in with Sloan.
Fourth season
The fourth season continues the Medellin plotline as production of the film finally begins. Conflicts quickly arise when E admits to being dissatisfied with the first cut after Walsh reluctantly agrees to a midnight screening. Vince and E subsequently clash over the creative direction and financing of the film in an arc which escalates through the season.
When the Medellin trailer leaks to the public via YouTube, an opportunity is presented to leverage the resultant hype to broker a deal attaching Vince to a new big-budget project. The deal, however, is unexpectedly sold on the strength of not just Vince, but the "Medellin Dream Team" — also involving E as producer and Walsh as director — at the point when animosity between E and Walsh begins to come to a head. Consequently, E must decide between jeopardizing the deal, and the prospect of working on another project with Walsh, which he had previously sworn he would never do again. There is much contention over the ending of the script, and Stephen Gaghan is brought in briefly, at which point Walsh comes up with what he believes to be a good ending.
Meanwhile, Ari contends with various complications in his personal and professional lives, including the incapacitating relationship troubles of his indispensable assistant, Lloyd, the uncertainty of his son's acceptance into the exclusive private school his daughter currently attends, and interpersonal conflicts between employees of his agency.
E navigates unfamiliar waters as he clumsily attempts to expand the representation of his fledgling management agency beyond Vince, his only client at the time. By chance he comes to meet and subsequently represent Anna Faris, but when his loyalty to Vince and his personal feelings for Faris are set at odds with one another and compromise his professional judgement, he is ultimately fired by Faris.
Drama and Turtle are featured throughout the season in various subplots that see them engaging in the type of antics typical of their characters, such as procuring marijuana and engaging in furry fetishes via Craigslist on a bet.
In the season finale, the entourage travel to Cannes to promote Medellin, and sign a distribution deal. However, the film bombs with the Cannes audience, and they are forced to accept an offer from producer Harvey Weingard (whom they earlier rebuffed) of a mere one dollar for the movie.
Fifth season
The show's fifth season begins with Vince and Turtle on a beach in Mexico, while Eric and Ari try to get Vince an opportunity to get his career back on track back in California. Medellin has gone straight-to-DVD, and made numerous worst-of-the-year lists, with Vince's performance coming under fire from critics as well. Drama is also in Hollywood, continuing production of his show Five Towns while maintaining a long-distance relationship with his French girlfriend Jacqueline. Ari and E remain unsuccessful in convincing Vince to return to the States until Ari gets a sit-down for Vince with producer Carl Ertz about a new movie titled "Danger Beach". When Vince and Turtle return, they all realize that Ertz was not actually interested in Vince but was instead using him to secure Emile Hirsch for the role. Seemingly at a dead end, Vince returns to basics and begins reading scripts Ari claims are already taken. One sticks out to Eric; Named Nine Brave Souls. Meanwhile Drama's nervousness about Jacqueline possibly cheating on him leads to their break-up and he works himself through a guilty frenzy that reaches its peak when he breaks down during a guest appearance on The View. Eric sees potential in Nine Brave Souls and approaches the writers to begin representing them. He gets Ed Norton and Amanda Daniels (Carla Gugino) interested, and they change the name of the movie to Smoke Jumpers. When Ari finally reads the script of Smoke Jumpers he convinces Eric to start a bidding war for the movie with Vince attached. Amanda refuses to participate and passes on it until later reconsidering and making an offer. However, Alan Gray, the man who fired Vince from the sequel to Aquaman, outbids them.
Ari asks for the second lead in Smoke Jumpers for Vince but Alan Gray says no. Vince is offered a role in a live-action "Benji" movie but after considering it he realizes that Smoke Jumpers is still the movie he really wants. Ari, determined to get Vince the role he desires, challenged Alan to a round of golf for the part. Alan brings PGA Tour pro Phil Mickelson along as a coach and beats Ari. Venting his anger, Alan begins to yell at Ari for even bringing up Smoke Jumpers, knowing he hates Vince; but suddenly drops dead of a heart attack. At Alan's funeral, Ari takes the opportunity to ask John Ellis, Alan's boss, about giving the role to Vince. Ellis instead offers him Alan's position as president of the studio, with Amanda Daniels (Carla Gugino) as the number-two choice for the job. Rather than accepting the offer and abandoning his clients, Ari instead gets Dana Gordon the job, therefore locking up Smoke Jumpers for Vince. Meanwhile, Turtle meets Jamie-Lynn Sigler on an airplane and the two hit it off, but their potential relationship is ruined when Turtle tells the guys she gave him a handjob and they tell everyone.
Smoke Jumpers begins filming and Vince becomes increasingly angry when his co-star, Jason Patric, steals several of his lines. He discovers that the director, Verner (Stellan Skarsgård), gave his lines to Patric. Vince talks to Verner about his frustration over how few of lines he's been given, and rather than giving him more, he tells Vince about his bad acting habits. Ari signs his old colleague Andrew Klein (Gary Cole) as a new partner in MGA.
Verner eventually fires Vince from Smoke Jumpers when one scene is shot several times without good results and Vince gets angry. Ari flies in but cannot convince Verner to give Vince another chance, so he seeks Gordon's intervention. She scolds Verner but he storms into a conference room where Ellis is hosting a meeting. Furious, Ellis pulls the plug on the whole movie. Meanwhile, Jamie-Lynn forgives Turtle for opening his mouth and appears to want to start a relationship with him if he keeps quiet, so they spend the day together and consider spending the weekend together. However, their plans are cut short when he receives a call from Vince explaining the situation and they all fly back to Queens for a week.
With Vince's future in acting looking dim, his relationship with Eric is tested when Vince pursues a role in Gus Van Sant's new film. Eric persistently tracks down Gus in an attempt to convince him to meet with Vince, despite Ari's opposition. Gus refuses, saying he has seen all of Vince's work and he is not a fan, but agrees to see the Smoke Jumpers footage. Meanwhile, Jamie-Lynn reveals her relationship with Turtle to the guys. Gus calls back saying he loves the footage and claims that he would love to work with Vince, but not on his current project. Vince gets really upset and fires Eric only to later apologize after learning that his persistence led to an offer by Martin Scorsese for a lead in his next feature, a re-envisioning of The Great Gatsby set in New York City. The episode ends with them all back in Hollywood on their way to celebrate.
The season five DVD box set is slated for a June 2, 2009 release date keeping with HBO's theme of releasing the series on DVD within three weeks of its new season's premier.
Sixth season
HBO confirmed on October 6, 2008, that Entourage has been renewed for a sixth season with filming set to begin in March 2009. The episodes are set to air Mid-2009. Gary Cole has been confirmed to be joining the cast as a regular for the new season. Tom Brady will be a special guest in an episode, as well. Autumn Reeser will also appear as a new junior agent in Miller/Gold.
On March 6 2009, Dan Patrick of Sports Illustrated reported on his radio show that LeBron James would also make a cameo in an episode.
Episodes
The first episode was simply titled "Entourage" and aired on July 18, 2004. The show has completed five seasons. HBO aired the finale of season five on November 23, 2008.
Seasons one through four can be found either on DVD or Itunes. Season five has yet to reach either of these.
Themes and characteristics
Male friendship
A recurring theme in Entourage is the strength of friendship and its importance over work. Series creator Doug Ellin stated, "Entourage works because it's about male friendship. The Hollywood setting is entertaining but it's really about the relationship between these guys". He later added that, "Ultimately, the show's theme is friendship and family. The characters may have the bling, but they're grounded guys who look out for each other. That's the backbone of the show. If it was just about fantasy lifestyles, it wouldn't be relatable".
This view was supported by Jeremy Piven, who plays the talent agent Ari: "If it was just a show about wish fulfillment and guys getting fucked because their best friend was famous, it wouldn't be that interesting".
To strengthen the bond between the actors, only actors with ties to New York were chosen.
Hollywood lifestyle
Episodes of Entourage focus, beside the friendship between the four main characters, on their lifestyle in Hollywood. Specifically, the various parties and movie premieres they visit, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of being, or being connected to, a star on a person's social status. To lend credence to the show's situations and locations, most episodes of Entourage feature at least one celebrity guest star.
Reception
Entourage has received mostly positive reviews from critics, scoring 73/100 for season 3 and 71/100 for season 5 on the review aggregator site Metacritic. However the show's fifth season has had a mixed reception by fans and critics alike, citing a difference in the style of the writing of the show as well as compacted direction due to shorter running length. Other criticism comes from the dismissal of proposed story lines from the previous season such as Harvey Weingard's resurrection of Medellin or Billy Walsh's project Silo. The character of Billy Walsh does not appear in the season at all which was responded to negatively. Still, fans have given the season an overall rating of 9.2/10.
Awards and nominations
International syndication
| Country | Broadcasters | Notes |
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 | HBO | |  | Arena | Shown in 4:3 Aspect Ratio instead of 16:9 Widescreen. |  | HBO Plus | |  | FOX life | |  | HBO Canada | Airs shows on the same day as the HBO premiere at 8:30pm EST. | | The Movie Network | Aired shows on the same day as the HBO premiere until October 26, 2008. | | Citytv | Showed edited (no nudity, few profanities) reruns of the series up to season 3. Rights transferred to CTVglobemedia as of 2008. | | Bravo! | Shows edited reruns of the series up to season 4. |  | TV2 Zulu, Canal+ | Entourage is broadcast by Canal+ in several Scandinavian countries. |  | Sub, Canal+ | |  | TPS Star | | | | W9 | Discontinued before the end of season 1. |  | Fox Channel | |  | Comedy Central | |  | HBO | Entourage shows are edited (no nudity, no profanity). |  | RTÉ | |  | Channel 3 | Entourage is broadcast by HOT in the HOT VOD - HBO ON DEMAND service |  | Jimmy | |  | Fox Life HD | |  | HBO - Televisa, Canal 5 | Televisa: Re-caps | | | BNN | |  | TVNZ | Discontinued before the end of Season 2. |  | TV3 and Canal+ | | | | ETC Entertainment Central and Radio Philippines Network | |  | SIC, MOV | |  | MTV Russia | |  | HBO | |  | GO | |  | Canal+, La Sexta | |  | SVT, Canal+ | | | | HBO | |  | CCTV | |  | ComedyMax | |  | NTV | Season 3 Premiered in December, 2008. | | | ITV2 | Season 5 episodes are shown 4 days after their US premiere. | |
The first season has been aired on MBC Action a channel part of MBC Group in the Middle East
External links
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